Preston Brooks - Definition and Overview

J.L. Magee's infamous political cartoon about the attack on Charles Sumner

Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 - January 27, 1857) was a Congressman from South Carolina. He died in office.

Born in Edgefield County, South Carolina and a graduate of South Carolina College, (now known as the University of South Carolina), Brooks served in the Mexican-American War with the Palmetto Regiment. He was elected to the United States Congress in 1853. Although suspicious of political parties, Brooks was officially associated with the Democratic Party. On May 22 1856, Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the Senate for a speech Sumner had made three days previous criticizing president Franklin Pierce and Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas"). In particular, he lambasted Brooks' kinsman, Senator Andrew Butler, who was not even in attendance when the speech was read. Brooks broke his cane upon Sumner's head; South Carolinians sent him dozens of brand new canes to replace it. Brooks survived an expulsion vote in the House but resigned his seat and was returned to Congress by his constituents. He remained in office until his death in 1857. Sumner was unable to return to duty for more than three years while he recovered; he later became one of the most influential Radical Republicans during the early years of Reconstruction. Brooks is buried in Edgefield, South Carolina.

External Links

• [1] (http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/seminar/unit4/sumner.html) Full transcript of Sumner's speech
• [2] (http://www.bartleby.com/268/9/15.html) Brooks' response, after the beating